


Ghost

by feather_aesthetic



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, tickle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 00:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16074119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feather_aesthetic/pseuds/feather_aesthetic
Summary: "You’re not dead Daisy, we still have training.""No I’m a ghost, ghosts don’t have to do training."  The floor made an odd snapping noise as May shifted her stance, and suddenly she was nudging Daisy's side with her toe. It was so unexpected that she had no hope of containing the small half-giggle the poke elicited. She rolled onto her back to disguise it, peering at May through half-closed and heavy eyelids.  "Let me rest in peace.  You did this to me."  May poked her again, and that time there was no hiding the jolt and faint squeak. Daisy closed her eyes, finally feeling cooled off enough, heart rate back to normal. May was silent for a moment, but then—"...You’re a very ticklish ghost."





	Ghost

“Slave driver,” Daisy muttered. May gave no sign that she'd heard her, but Daisy knew she had—the woman’s hearing was beyond sharp. They were entering the third set of their workout, and Daisy was exhausted. She was sick of squats. And lunges. And push-ups. Exercise in general sucked. She'd been up since 4:45, and it was 6 a.m.—they'd been working out for an hour and May was showing no sign of slowing down. Despite her reluctance, she followed May's movements obediently, dropping into another round of squats and hoping her leaden legs wouldn't give out. It was another half an hour of progressively more difficult exercise before May called it, forehead shining with sweat and cheeks flushed. While she headed over to a bench on the edge of the gym, making for her towel and water bottle, Daisy crumpled face-first onto the mats. They were cool and squishy, simultaneously providing relief for her heated skin and sticking wetly to every inch of her sweat-soaked form. She was too exhausted to care about the sticky part, since it only felt gross when she moved, and she wasn't planning on doing that anytime soon. Barely a minute later, (or maybe more, Daisy might have dozed off a bit) she heard May get up and then the chains of the punching bag were rattling in a steady rhythm, one that soothed her pounding pulse and gave her something to sync her heartbeat to.

* * *

It was an indeterminate amount of time later when she vaguely sensed someone standing over her. Managing to peel her eyes open, she found May, or more accurately, May's shins, in her field of vision.  
"Are you ever going to get up?" May's voice floated from somewhere above her, sounding mildly amused. 

"I'll consider it." She fell silent again, pretending to think. When she sensed May getting impatient, she spoke up again, "...No." May sighed, as though she were expecting that exact answer.

"You can't stay there forever Daisy," she reasoned, and she had to be crazy if she thought that logic was going to work on Daisy.

"I can if I'm dead." She was being childish, she knew she was, but so far May still sounded amused, or at least like she was playing along. 

"You're clearly very alive." 

"Not for lack of trying on your part," she muttered, and she could've sworn she heard a tiny snort. Daisy's heart jumped at the sound, elated at her success. Making May laugh in any form was an achievement. Turning up the dramatics, she wailed, "I'm dead May! You've finally killed me." She could practically hear May rolling her eyes.

"You’re not dead Daisy, we still have training."

"No I’m a ghost, ghosts don’t have to do training." The floor made an odd snapping noise as May shifted her stance, and suddenly she was nudging Daisy's side with her toe. It was so unexpected that she had no hope of containing the small half-giggle the poke elicited. She rolled onto her back to disguise it, peering at May through half-closed and heavy eyelids. "Let me rest in peace. You did this to me." May poked her again, and that time there was no hiding the jolt and faint squeak. Daisy closed her eyes, finally feeling cooled off enough, heart rate back to normal. May was silent for a moment, but then—

"...You’re a very ticklish ghost." Daisy's muscles tightened almost imperceptibly, heart fluttering with nervous, excited energy. May wouldn't... would she? They'd grown close, to the point where Daisy saw May as her mo—her mentor, but she'd never seen May be so playful, not even when pulling that shaving cream prank on Fitz (May had denied it every time she'd brought it up, but Daisy knew). 

"Ghosts aren't ticklish." May poked at her again, watching her twitch with palpable amusement.

"Well this once certainly is," she teased. Daisy bit her lip to keep from grinning, too nervous to open her eyes. The fluttery feeling in her chest intensified, and she already felt giggles at the back of her throat. May didn't do anything by halves, so if Daisy kept it up, she might find herself at May's mercy, and she wasn't willing to bet anything she valued on how merciful May was. The best course of action, she decided, was denial. 

"No I'm not." She held her breath, trying to keep her face blank so that May wouldn't be able to tell that she was almost giggling without even being touched. The silence stretched, and she was tempted, so tempted, to open her eyes and check what May was doing. She felt the playful tension growing, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards despite her best efforts.

"Oh really?" Daisy barely had time to register the warning in May's voice and feel the anticipation flare in her stomach before May pounced on her. Her eyes flew open too late, and May already had a leg across hers, pinning her in an instant. Clever fingers were at her sides, searching for ticklish spots, and all it took was a few pinches at the base of her ribs for Daisy to burst into bright laughter. 

"Mahahay!" she protested, flailing. 

"Hmm?" May teased, pinching further up her ribs while Daisy squirmed and pulled her arms even closer to her body in a desperate attempt to protect herself. Her low, bubbly laughter filled the room as she arched her back. "The wind must be really strong today, I keep thinking I hear someone calling my name. Or maybe it's just a ghost." Daisy finally gained the presence of mind to attempt escape, grabbing at May's hands in a bid to stop the tingly sensations sparking through her body. In seconds, one of her wrists was pinned beneath the ankle May wasn't using to hold her legs, and the other was trapped in May's iron grip. 

"Nohohoho!" she giggled, tugging hard on her arms. May let up for a second to smirk down at her.

"Since you're so determined to stay down here to avoid training, I figured I'd bring training to you." 

"May, let me goho!" If May's smirk were any wider it would count as a real smile.

"I'll consider it," she said, laughter tinging the edges of her voice. Daisy groaned at the reference to her earlier petulence. She had absolutely no chance of being released. "This is perfect for your training. You know how to escape from this. Time to practice." Daisy bit the inside of her cheek. No way May would let her off that easily. She twisted and turned in May's grip, trying to dislodge her or slip free. The younger woman managed to free the hand that May was holding down by wrenching it free through the weakest part of her grip, and she cheered triumphantly. The evil smile overtaking May's face dissipated Daisy's short-lived glee, and within seconds her wrist was caught beneath the leg holding Daisy down, leaving both of May's hands free. "We really need to focus on floor work," she teased, and dug into Daisy's stomach with all 10 fingers. Daisy shrieked, throwing her head back at the near-unbearable sensations short-circuiting her brain. May's fingers were everywhere, spidering up her sides, squeezing her ribcage, lingering on the soft flesh of her lower belly and turning her into absolute mush. Daisy couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled so wide, laughed so much. Maybe never.

* * *

May smirked down at the student she was fondly tormenting. What had begun as adorable, childish giggling had turned into near-hysterical belly laughter, of a kind May had never heard from Daisy before. Her eyes were squeezed shut from laughter, cheeks flushed and glowing. 

"MahaAHAHAHAY!" May couldn't resist teasing the girl, just a little.

"Well, you are a ticklish ghost, huh?"

"Ihihihihi'm nahahat!"

"Not what? Not ticklish, or not a ghost?" Daisy squealed when May pinched her hips, digging her heels into the mats. She shook her head, laughter turning breathless. 

"You don't know? Well, I can probably help you out. You're definitely," she poked at Daisy's stomach just to be sure, "very ticklish. Jury's still out on the ghost issue, but I'm pretty sure ghosts aren't supposed to squeal this much." As if to prove May’s point (or maybe it was the fingers worming their way under her arms), Daisy squealed again, tapering off into loud cackling. May chuckled, but let up—Daisy seemed to be getting pretty out of breath. Her laughter trailed off into breathless giggles and strange hiccuppy noises. 

“You okay?” she asked, half-teasing, half out of concern—Daisy had been losing a lot of air for a minute. 

“You,” she gasped, “you’re evil.” May hummed in amusement. 

“Perhaps. But if I were evil, I wouldn’t have stopped.” She laughed at the widening of Daisy’s eyes. “Lucky for you, I’m not entirely evil,” she said, swinging her leg off of Daisy’s and releasing her. Daisy barely moved, just brought her hands up to rest on her stomach—a protective or comfortable move, May was unsure. May lay back on the mats and settled in next to the girl that had become like a daughter to her. Not that she would ever say anything, of course, but the looks that Coulson gave her when she would make tea for Daisy or buy her a thoughtful gift that she passed off as a necessity the girl didn't own were enough to let her know that she wasn’t fooling anyone. (Fuzzy socks and blankets were a necessity for cold nights in their base. And the books were ones that May had enjoyed and thought that Daisy would get something out of. And everyone and their dog had a yoga mat nowadays... maybe she had gone a little overboard). Looking at Daisy, she smiled fondly, eyes crinkling at the content look on her face. The girl was far more ticklish than she had thought possible—perhaps a side effect of growing up without much physical interaction. Either way, it was adorable, and not something May was going to forget anytime soon. Or ever. May felt the beginnings of hunger pangs in the bottom of her stomach.

“It’s 8:15. Do you want breakfast?” Daisy opened one eye cautiously.

“Are you making it?” she asked dubiously, sitting up and stretching out long limbs. May gave her a look from her place on the floor.

“Are you?” They mock-glared at each other before bursting into laughter. “Maybe we should get Coulson to make it.” Daisy nodded her agreement, still overcome with giggles. 

“Probably for the best.” Daisy stood with a groan, popping several different bones on her way up. She paused when May made no effort to get up.

“...you don’t want to move, do you?” 

“You may have had a point,” May said. “These mats are pretty comfortable.” Daisy grinned.

“I knew you’d come around.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm feather-aesthetic on tumblr, come yell at me or follow for more fics, I publish on there before I do on here so if you like my stuff you'll get it faster on that hellsite


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